Positively Pearlmethyst Week
by Sanomo
Summary: Here is a collection of stories I contributed to the Positively Pearlmethyst tag on tumblr. Link to my tumblr is in my profile.
1. First Time Meeting Each Other

**Positively Pearlmethyst Day 1:** **First Time Meeting Each Other**

She could picture that dress like it were a photo taken with her mind, usually so pure, so white, like a snowflake, yet it's pure color had been spattered with thick clumpy dust. But what a smile. Pink lips. White teeth. Happiness, in its purest, simplest, form.

"Rose!" A rather young voice ejaculated at the none to unusual sight, "what happened?" With lithe feet she rushed to the woman's side. Her small body easily swallowed by the others magnificent form; a full two and a half feet taller than if she were to even stretch that piercing nose above her head.

Voice alight with elation as she spoke; it drove the younger gem to ecstasy, "Oh, Pearl. You won't believe what I've found." Excitement flurried her monstrous hair. The curling edges of pink squirmed as if alive. Rose wrapped her hands around her stomach; overtop the gem peeking through a star shaped cut out in her dress, replacing the spot where a belly button should have been.

"You-your a mess!" Frets Pearl who begins pulling up that dress and trying to brush off the filth from the woman's adventure. Short fingernails pick at the clumps. Breaking them off. Not minding in the least that even though she hated dirt, if it was for Rose, she would gladly wash up later.

Large flush hands swallow her own. They were soft, and warm, and comfortable. So much so that the oblong oval pearl in her head sparkled a bit brighter. An embarrassed smile. Sweaty palms. Pearl gingerly took the other woman's hand, or tried to considering its magnificent size, and began to stroke the dust off those puffy knuckles. How she would have kissed them if they weren't so repulsive at the moment. Nothing a bath in the fountains couldn't fix. Pearl felt a giddiness overtake her form. _I can scrub her back again._

"Pearl?"

"Yes?"

"I want to show you something that I found."

Pearl let go of the hand. Ready for that sweet touch she had to be replaced with some rock, or plant, or...she shivered, hopefully not a bug again.

That curly pink hair moved again despite there not being a single wind. The clouds were still in the sky, and the sand at their feet did not stir except when Pearl moved.

Confusion set in when those plump fingers closed Pearls own. She looked into those deep eyes. Set impossibly perfect on that beautiful face. Admiration wasn't a word best used describe what she held for Rose. An earth term which Pearl had heard used many a time to describe when the indigenes population of this planet strayed across their presence: Goddess. _My Goddess._

"I went there...to-the kindergarten." Rose paused for the shout that was right on cue, "I know. I know. It's such an awful place. But-Pearl. I found something. Something so wonderful. She must have just been born."

Pearl paused to reflect on the pronoun, "She?" Pearl asked, and as if it were a calling card, as if she had said someone's name in a mirror three times, Rose's hair parted and a purple blotch with a short nose and wide unblinking eyes peeked out. Small hands with dirty fingers were absolutely ruining that flawless hair. They gripped tight and pulled the rest of this small being out into the light of day.

"Oh my goodness! She's unclothed!" Pearl covered her face for the shame the other was clearly not expressing at her own immodesty.

Rose laughed, watching the purple behind strut on all fours along the sand. Having trouble on the raw and abrasive surface. So unlike her calloused knees and hands were used to. An entirely alien feeling on her limbs. She didn't know what to think about it. It tingled her fingers when she took a clump of it between them. She watches as it strain through the cracks.

"How?" Was all that Pearl could ask, hands shielding everything but the head of this new gem in their mists. Hair caked with mud. Cheeks scratched. Those young lips showing the signs of begging to plump. She was indeed very young in her production. _She doesn't know what her form is supposed to look like,_ Pearl thought curiously as she noted the stunted size compared to the large purple amethyst gem under her clavicle. _Must have been incubating for too long._ With a wistful sigh Pearl finally felt the thicker start of a connection to this new gem. They both weren't who they were created to be.

Before she could creep further away Rose picked up the Amethyst. Limbs flail about, teeth gnash the air as she struggles for freedom. "Oh." Rose felt a steady beat in the gem in her tummy, the beginning of a very serious bond forming with this new member to their family. As those sharp teeth gnawed on her finger, Rose cooed, "I think we should get you cleaned up." Rose smiled.

"Yes, and properly clothed too." Pearl arched a brow towards the squirming bundle that had suddenly stopped when she heard her voice. Those beady eyes narrowed. Breath puffed like a steam engine from that tiny chest. A small amount of drool dribbled over the amethysts bottom lip. Distracted by this, Pearl did not notice the tensing in the legs, a clear sign before the small gem flung herself forward. Mouth agape, and poised for that long nose of hers. Amethysts first words, weren't words at all, it was a laugh, deep and rumbling and it had never changed since that day.

"Yo I remember that." A little older, still less the wiser, but a smidge taller. Her teeth were bared in much the same feral way they always had been, even back then. Hair much longer now (down to her legs), but she at least finally put some clothes on. The low cut top exposes her gem, which was now more proportional to the rest of her for Pearls own sanity.

Amethyst took another handful of cookies off the plate and shoved them into her mouth. Crumbs tumbled to her shirt like rocks down a mountain side. Big rolling pieces of almost whole chocolate chips fell between the couch cushions to ruin Pearls day when she finds them later.

Still untouched, Steven held his cookie in his lap. Pearls arm had crawled up the back of his head where her fingers played with his scalp. The story finished. She had put the memory back on the library shelf in her mind.

"So Mom was the one who found Amethyst first?"

"Yes," Answered Pearl, taking a neglected napkin from the table to wipe the chocolate smudges around his mouth.

Steven looked at the cookie in his lap, and then broke off a piece to eat; making a new mess of his face. Chewing slowly, thoughtfully, combing over the entire story in his head.

"So it wasn't love at first sight?"

"No." Honesty, wasn't a bad thing, it was a great opportunity to teach in this case.

Steven chewed thoroughly before he said under his breath, "Love takes time, and love takes work." Yeah, that about summed it up alright.

"What was that?" Pearl asked, to which he didn't respond, causing the gem to purse her lips at the secret being kept from her.

"Ya know. I still find it hard to believe,"

"What's that Amethyst?"

"That such a cool gal like me could fall for the nerd bird here." Amethyst pointed her thumb Pearls way.

"Excuse me," Said nerd ruffled her arms angrily and crossed them over her thin chest, "I should say the same to such a dirty, unwashed..."

"I took a bath last week, P. Sorry that I don't find the need to bath everyday that important."

From there the conversation took a right turn. More insults were heaved, from both sides. Ranging from attacks on appearance (such as Pearls honking nose as Amethyst put it). To more issues with being an unwashed filthy pig living in a sty of a room (Pearl threatened to take a few rolls of trash bags into Amethyst's room).

Meanwhile, Steven got another cookie from the plate, plus extra when Pearl got out of her seat to confront Amethyst in closer quarters. This dance was erratic, unnecessary, but a part of the pairs chemistry. They'd make up...eventually; Steven just hoped it didn't take as long as the last time when Pearl threw out the year old bottle of fermenting milk Amethyst said she was saving for a special occasion. No, nothing was as bad as that situation had been.

A loud yell rattles the floor boards of the house, Pearl reeled, clutching her nose. Her flats put a couple of feet between themselves and the gem who was snapping her teeth.

"You bit me!"

"Awe, do you want me to kiss it all better?" Those fat purple lips puckered unromantically, like a beached whale gasping for air.

The usual silent sound of her footsteps had risen to the mere scratching of a rodents scamper, as Pearl went off to the bathroom to see how bad it really was.

Amethyst lengthened herself on the couch, elbow propped on the back, batted her eyelashes at the twining tail ends of Pearls stash as they slipped out of sight.

A laugh and a smile in her voice when the door to the bathroom shut with a thump, "She digs me."

Steven took another cookie off the plate.

 **THE END**


	2. Cooking Together

**Positively Pearlmethyst Day 2:** **Cooking Together**

"Are you planning on doing anything at all to help me with this?"

" _I'm_ reading the instructions."

"Oh no you don't. If you want to have any piece of this cake then you better help me Amethyst, or else I'll give it all to Steven."

"What, you trying to make him sick?"

"...this coming from the gem who encourages him to ingest vehicular fluids."

"Don't knock it till you try it."

Aggravated, Pearl rubbed around the gem in her forehead, hoping to sooth the little raps starting inside. If not careful, it could bloom into a complete gem migraine. "Why is it so important that you make a cake anyway?"

"Cause I'm hungray." Amethyst rubbed her tummy, which gurgled, as it always did a hundred percent of the time.

Now the pain in Pearl's gem had escalated to a rapid beating similar to a humans heart.

 **Thump thump thump. Thump thump thump.**

A deep growl ripped through her teeth. The day had been great. No missions. Just free time to get everything in order. Perfect. House clean. Temple clean (parts of it at least). While Steven was out she had washed his sheets and done a load of clothes. Yet still, more _could_ be done. The front porch needed to be swept. And a dirty bathroom was calling Pearls name. Not to mention they were getting low on toiletries. Early man used to use leaves...why was there a need now to process them into long rolls just so they look more presentable. It all goes down the drain anyway. Pearl could do without all of-that. However, Stevens needs outweighed her judgmental attitude towards humans and their...biological parts.

Cupboard doors squeak on salt aired hinges. Pearls most treasured items, the measuring spoons, were taken out. Beautiful stainless steel with etched vines in the handle. Each size of the spoon was shaped like a flower in the different stages of development; from bud to bloom. Pearl inspected them in the sunlight coming through the front windows. They sparkled immaculate and clean. As she always kept her things.

"Amethyst we won't be needing that." She addressed the other, who under the circumstances might be considered a sous-chef; albeit a frustrating one to work with.

Wooden handle swung through the air with jarring animalistic intent, Amethyst made an amalgam of noises which ranged from the general to gruesome when one wielded a hammer (meat tenderizer actually).

Her hand washed down her face, hoping to strip the teeming stress from her skin. Pearl had no such luck when Amethyst gave her an incredulous look.

"What? I can make a pie with this thing."

"No," Pearl sighed, "you cannot, that is not what that particular tool is used for."

Amethyst's eyes had grown forlorn; she placed the tenderizer back in the drawer, whispering a disappointed Oh man under her breath.

From there Pearl fell into what might be best described, without the use of profanity, as culinary torture. Whether it was how Amethyst helped with the measuring (which coated the counter in a film of flour). Or adding the eggs (it took twenty minutes to fish out all the shell pieces as Amethyst misinterpreted cracking the egg as a literal translation for obliterating their contents into the bowel with a powerful slam dunk). Don't even get Pearl started on the way the gem was mixing the batter. Careless, maniacal, ferocious. Smudges of it had somehow reached the ceiling, the ceiling! _Oh my, how am I going to get up there?_

While Pearl contemplated a solution she heard the scraping of the wooden spoon on the inside of the plastic bowl. The noise grated her ears, causing a shiver in her gem. When she turned to discipline her sous-chef, Pearl had to take a moment to pause and assess the situation. Too late to take anything back now, what was done is done, and really, Pearl should have expected this. It was only a matter of reluctant acceptance and a heavy sigh that Pearl's gem didn't simply explode.

"What?" Amethyst knew full well she had been caught and was already accepting of whatever punishment was coming her way. The spoon, slathered in batter, was caught between her teeth like a fly in a Venus fly trap. That slobbery tongue licking the sweet chocolate batter off in large clumps.

"We won't have enough to bake the cake now." Pearl said, anger dissipating when she noticed the large splotch of chocolate on Amethysts tank top. The scene was adorable; in a way. And the reward for this entire ordeal was that Pearl got to clean up (what better part was there anyway). Pearl ran the water in the sink and soaped up the sponge. A grin spreading as she sunk her hands into the task at hand. The thrill of righting wrongs and making things spotless was a high that could not be found even in battle.

As the suds began to spread, and the dishes started to sparkle, Pearl had begun to hum. A deep colorful sound, that shouldn't be so angelic but it was. The gem had an eerie power to bounce notes around the room. Creating an orchestra with one throat. It encompassed the whole room in an enjoyable melody. This kind of show don't cost nothing.

Amethyst dipped her spoon back into the bowl, watching those thin back muscles move behind fabric. She took a big old lick of batter. Smacking her lips as the sweet taste touched her tongue.

Such a noise went unnoticed, to lost in her chore, Pearl had figuratively rolled up her sleeves trying to scrub every last bit of residue away. She held her prized measuring spoon at eye level, then higher, higher still, trying to catch the light just right to prove that there was indeed still a speck left to be cleaned. Eyes pensive. Mouth frowning at the fact that she couldn't find anything even though she was very sure that there was. So lost, that Pearl didn't even register the kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks for making me a cake, P."

A pause was taken, Pearl turned to address her short companion, "Of course Amethyst." Taking her thumb Pearl wiped off a smear of batter from Amethysts lips, and then quickly washed her thumb under the sink.

The large mixing bowl sent up a splash of water as it was tossed into the sink.

"Hey!" Pearl exclaimed, as the water ran down her front, "Ugh, look what you did." Addressing the issue with a flourish of her hand, Pearl's foot tapped irritably on the wooden floor.

Amethyst shrugged, rolled her one visible eye and said, "I thought Pearls liked being wet?" A laugh tumbles obnoxiously from that widening mouth, fat lips spreading so a tongue could come out to wiggle petulantly in Pearls face.

"Really, Amethyst." Going back to her cleaning, Pearl grumbled upon finding that the batter from the mixing bowl had begun to turn to water a dark cocoa brown. Clean dishes which had begun to dry by the sink had become victims of Amethyst carelessness, splattered with both sudsy water and uncooked cake. So Pearl simply deposited them back in to start over again.

Pearl pointed somewhere, anywhere, just not in the kitchen, "Please leave me be before you make this mess any worse." She did not want to look over her shoulder at the counter just yet, tempting as it may be, but also seemed like inviting the devil to dinner before you had finished cooking.

"That's cool. I'll be out on the porch then. Ya know, if you want to join me or whatever after your done gettin your clean freak thang on." Charm undetectable, even if Amethyst thought she was employing it rightfully so.

But the offer was inviting. A chance to sit. To rest. To just be for a moment, in the moment. That beautiful view was calling, so Pearl doubled over the sink, but still took her time to avoid mistakes. If the dishes weren't cleaned properly, well then that could open up to all kinds of nasty things latching onto them. _And Steven could get sick,_ Pearl thought with a nagging inner voice.

As the number of clean dishes began to outnumber the dirty towards a satisfactory ending, her endeavors had to be put on hold when Pearl felt a tickle, the kind when something wet touches ones skin. It itched on her cheek. Pearl gingerly ran a finger, just the tip, nothing more, along the area. Relief was a breathy sigh. Yet as Pearl withdrew the finger she notices there was something more than just water there. The gem panicked, looking at her warped reflection in the microwave door. A dark brown smudge in the shape of a familiar pair of lips.

"AMETHYST!"

The figure sitting in a chair on the porch jumped when called by name.

 **THE END**


	3. Protection Teamwork

**Positively Pearlmethyst Day 3:** **Protection/Teamwork**

It is a frightening thought to lose ones sense of self. To lose your personality, your uniqueness, to lose even, memories of loved ones. It makes the deepest parts of her gem shiver. So round and sparkling white, protruding from her forehead like a flower in bloom. It carries their entire essence. What humans might even speculate to be a soul. Who knows, that realm lies far outside where her reasonable mind dares to tread; both fathomless, and endless. Besides spirituality wasn't her thing anyway. She always found it hard to adopt those tenants in her training.

Vicious teeth snap. Long dangerous claws leave jagged tears in the stone. Its skin as mutated a reflection as its gem. All cuts, no face, but a bright indigo color to beautiful for such a horrid form.

Pearl dances, toes barely touching the ground before she takes flight again; an angel with grace, and grit. Her spear of which she wields is an extension of herself; they are one in the same.

Those eyes unnerve Pearl. They have intent, but lack substance. No purpose, only instinct. _Barbaric_. Yet Pearl wonders, did they have friends? Were they friends? Was it a gem she had met before? If only briefly. All possibilities, all conjecture at this point. This well could have been an enemy as much as an ally. A question Pearl wanted an answer for. _We lost so many allies, friends, in the war._ Still, it was a dreadful fate to befall any warrior, whether they were friend, or foe. _No one deserves this punishment._

Despite it all, what could have been, what might have been, Pearl still had a duty to uphold. As swift as a flowing river, her spear curves and flexes with her movements. Enslaved to her will. Cut, but never the final cut. She only wished to weaken the gem until...

 **Poof.**

A cloud of smoke which leaves behind the only piece of them that really mattered.

There was no hesitance, it was as ingrained as her fighting, Pearl bubbled the gem and snapped her fingers to make the bubble disappear. Even though it was all routine, when the bubble flashed away in a sparkle of light it took with it a little bit of a sigh. She looked at her hand and wondered, _how many did I put there?_ In that dark red room in the heart of the temple; thousands of them lie dormant. Would they be able to help them all as Rose wanted too? As Steven does too? _No, they are lost to us forever._ A diamonds power was far above that of any other gem.

"Why was I the lucky one?" Pearl had to briefly wonder. Was it all just that random? Yes, she was indeed simply lucky. Such tragedy could have befallen anyone of them just as easily as it did these gems. Pearl fumbles her hands. Rubs them together tightly, hoping the pressure might squeeze the dreadful what if out.

Feet carry her with purpose across the impromptu battlefield. It is easy to follow _her_ path. The ground is scratched. Trees are inflicted with long slices across their bark. Some are lost for good. Toppled at the trunk. Loud taunting shouts draw Pearl through a bush into an opening to a field that used to be a thick forest, now the tress lay across the ground like a couple of sticks on hikers path.

Pearl feels a relief when she hears the voice. All gravel, with a lot of bite.

"You goin' down sucka." Tree trunks are uplifted like they were made of sponge.

One lands close enough to tussle Pearl's bow, but the gem is indifferent and watches on.

Purplish mane whips to and fro, her movements as sloppy as her room. Thick forearms bring the strength when needed as they caste a nasty looking whip. Enemy unseen, but the screeching gives away its intentions.

Pearl does not ponder about this corrupt gems motive as she did her own. Thick thighs, and a...Pearl feels her cheeks heat when she notices how Amethyst's backside sways ungracefully, yet entrancing. Those heavy breathes from exertion.

The end of the whip arcs swiftly. Tip disappearing into the thick of downed trees. A screech of pain, the only emotion they could feel now that they had lost everything else about themselves. Then, a sudden puff of smoke and all went quiet.

Amethyst is gone. A few choice words to mark her trail as she tries to get to the gem and bubble it. "Gotcha." She says with a big voice. Atop the trunk of a tree with deep welts in the bark Amethyst pauses with her prize. Pearl thinks she doesn't notice her, because as the other gem stares at the bubble, her face is drawn, sad, Pearl might dare say looking remorseful; surely not the kind of emotions she'd freely share with anyone else, Pearl included.

Then sparkles fill the air and bubble and gem are gone.

Amethyst does notice Pearl standing there now. "Yo, P. You done too?"

Pearl grins. "Finished in record time."

"Show off." The gem has a laugh as she jumps to the others side. With no pause she pulls on the front of Pearl top. A smooch was almost as satisfying as a slice of pizza to the gem, who felt her stomach rumble, hungry, but for more than food.

They headed for the warp pad basking in the silent repercussions of battle. No words, or need to force it. They found each other with their hands and held tightly. Synching their movements, and minds, to feel at peace, and complete. Not lost like so many other gems on this planet.

 **THE END**


	4. First Kiss

**Positively Pearlmethyst Day 4:** **First Kiss**

War could break the strongest of gems. It was a struggle to fight. A struggle to stay in one piece. Some lost themselves to their own evil hearts. While others tried to put back the pieces and return to who they had been, or, remake themselves for the better.

"Steven, please," Pearl fretted, "could you please stay put." She asked with a strained face. That little baby bottom in its faded children's jeans, too big and slipping down enough to show off his diaper. "Now I said please, Steven-No, don't go over there. You can't touch the warp pad, Steven. It's dangerous, Steven. Steven. STEVEN! Get that out of your mouth!"

A broken sea shell had found its way into the mouth of a curious, chubby cheeked child. Starry eyes, notice the flustered expression of his caretaker. So to cheer her up he gave her the best smile that he could; despite the missing tooth. Which, the gems had been reassured multiple times would grow back.

"Yes Pearl I'm completely sure that it's going to grow back. Now could you put down the hot glue gun!" The man had nervously tried to persuade her from making a very big mistake. Stress further thinning his scalp.

Pearl tries to grab the seashell. Steven knew she wanted it, but wasn't ready to share his new find just yet. The two spun in a circle (Pearl on agile tippy-toes, but no match for a squishy bottom) until Steven grew dizzy enough that he dropped the shell. Pearl scooped it up and pressed it to her gem. A glow of light and when next she showed her hand it was empty.

Although sad to lose it, Steven grew excited at seeing one of the gems use their magical abilities.

Pearl swept back her hair, "You can have it back when you're older-and, less likely to eat it." Not taking any chances on whether or not Steven could be a bottomless pit like Amethyst, or if he had the same kind of preclusions humans do to inorganic materials entering their gullets. It was not a risk she was willing to take with Rose's son.

"I don't get why you don't just sit on him? That is what a babysitter does right?" Sass-mouth had become customary. Amethysts own kind of rebellion, most likely caused by the company she kept outside of Garnet and Pearl. _She shouldn't hang around that human so much, she's rubbing off on her._ How was she to stop it? Greg and Vidalia were friends, and Steven enjoyed playing with her son. _I've watched them play_ (from afar, without any knowledge to the two parties), _he is far too rough with Steven. Did he want to try to launch Steven into the monkey bars from the swing set?_ And what insidious intentions did he have when offering to bury him in the sandbox? Clearly they were foul in nature.

Pearl scoffed, "Amethyst it is not to be taken as literal." Her long fingers waved the gem off, hoping she might take the hint to leave her be, since as of late all she seems good for was trying to push any button she could to get a rise out of Pearl.

A blubbery tongue tripped over the pronunciation of what Pearl assumed was her name. The gem turned to the young child. With his loose shirt exposing slight sunburned skin. Those small hands grabbed her thigh. Sand encrusted fingers made Pearl shiver. Steven babbled some more.

"Use your words Steven. What is it that you want?" Pearl asked sweetly.

"Psh, he's a baby, P. He can't talk so good like us yet."

"Well, he's going to have to learn sometime right?" Pearl countered, with a smug look, curved lips, and squinty eyes. Daring the other gem to try to contradict her logic.

Amethyst grunted, mumbled, and turned her head, "He's just a baby." She whispered under her breath; hiding the tightening of her jaw. _I'd wish you'd just listen to me for once._ Banishing what might have been left of misery from her face, Amethyst put on a big old toothy smile when Steven began to speak again. A lot of huffing, some mispronounced vowels, but he was determined to get out what needed to be said.

"C-cu..." Steven's small tongue struggled not to fall out of his mouth, while his lips had a hard time remembering the right way to form the words.

Pearl wasn't helping, "Cat?" she began to guess, "Cockatiel? Koala? Coconut, is that it Steven? What would he want a coconut for?" In her search for reason she turned to Amethyst for answers. One proven skill of hers being able to decipher what Steven was saying.

"Just let him get it out on his own." Amethyst crossed her arms, but bent down to eye level. "Whatcha' need Steve-O?"

Steven made a bunch of noise with very little being comprehensible. But by the end of it there was one word that stuck out.

"Cuss."

Pearl gasped, "Steven, where did you..."

"Chill." Amethyst clamped her hand over that flapping mouth, "Want to run that by me again little guy?"

Steven repeated, "Kuss."

Amethyst felt those lips squirm between her fingers. She pinched tighter until they stop. "Is it...kiss? That what you want?"

Instantly the boy slapped his hands down upon Pearls thigh. The gem trembled when she felt sand getting under her shorts. Oh what fresh nightmare this was becoming. And those big offish hands holding her smelled like disgusting boardwalk food. Pearl felt queasy in the gem.

"Looks like we have a bingo." A finger gun salute had the child beaming. _Doesn't take much to make you happy. If only some people would catch that bug._ Like some kind of gem parasite that'd crawl into her ear and eat the part of Pearl's gem that made her such a cranky pants know it all. _She'd be a lot more fun without the stick up her butt._ Unfortunately, the only one who could pull it out had been Rose. _She could get P to loosen up. It was like her most magical power._

Those lips pursed as Pearl picked the child up, cradled him to the matching star on her chest, a mere dwarf of the one on Stevens shirt. "Is that what you want?" Perplexed by such a demand, Pearl tilted her head; Steven mirrored, but puckered his modest mouth and leaned forward. Unready for the sudden action, Pearl dodged those dribbling lips.

Thinking he had missed, Steven grabbed those thin cheek bones to keep himself steady. Yet felt the gem struggle to keep away from his eagerness.

"Yo, give him a kiss."

"I-i-i'm not sure that's for the best. What if-a-what if I have some sort of germ on me. He could get sick." Nervous, stumbling, the lie was there, and easy to pick apart. Her eyes gave shifty looks. Yeah, Amethyst could tell Pearl was being a germ- _o_ -phobic goof. _Pain in the butts more like it._

"Pucker dem lips before you make him cry."

"But..." In that moment Steven employed some sneaky maneuvers that made Amethyst very proud. Using a hidden strength, Steven brought that pale cheek into wet contact. It was a different kind of warm from when his father and he sleep together in the van. The gems all felt warmer than anyone else Steven had met. Not bad, just not like normal people.

Things stilled as Pearl took in that sensation, so eerily wet, and gooey, like mixed with a slimy jelly fish. Pearl handed Steven over to Amethyst so she could ungratefully wipe the gift away.

Big old baby eyes full of curiosity Steven stretched out his hands to grab hold of a chunk of Amethysts hair. Ever so gently, for a baby, he wove his fingers in it. Felt its hard unwashed ends against his sensitive skin.

"Don't I get a kiss?" Amethyst asked, after all, she was being generous by letting him even touch her hair. No one was allowed to touch her without permission.

It was quick and wetter than Pearls, the spit slid down to her chin, yet Amethyst, unlike someone else, wore it proudly.

Steven went back to fussing with her hair.

Pearls shoes made not a noise as she stepped beside the two of them. Cheek polished to a bruising shine.

"Way to be rude, P."

Those sky blue eyes rolled, "How was I being rude?" She asked.

"You didn't keep little Steve's gift. He made it all nice an drooly, just the way you like them." Amethyst's laugh was a grating, blubbery, sound. Tongue flopping down to her chin. Steven bounced in her arms, neglecting the ruckus in favor of this new sensation with gems hair.

"Yes, well, I'm sorry, but I do not enjoy drooly baby kisses..." Pearl stopped as she was reaching to take Steven back, "I'm sorry if that offended you Steven." He did not seem to know what offended meant, let alone that he should have felt it. But when Pearl tried to take him back Steven did make a fuss. Holding tightly onto Amethysts hair, he pulls it with him as Pearl tries to take him back.

Amethyst bellowed angrily, "Ouch, Pearl. Stop pulling him. He's got them hooks in me real tight."

"Make him let go then." Pearl insisted.

"It's harder than it looks." As she tries to peel off those tiny slippery hands.

Irritation creeps like a hideous vine. Pearls fingers flex around Stevens middle. For a moment she wants to just yank him off, but then she might hurt Steven. "What's the problem, Amethyst?"

"You ever tangle with a baby when they've got their hands on something. They be supa strong."

"Don't be silly, he's just a child. How strong can he be?"

As she is about to give an experimental tug, Steven decides to enter the conversation. Their names are said (although dreadfully mispronounced) along with words that might have passed for a foreign language, if slippery tongues and babbling lips were what made one up. He does begin to gesture (while thankfully letting go of Amethysts hair), first to the lips, then to the cheek.

"I already gave you one, isn't that enough?" Pearl holds him at arm's length, afraid he may try kissing her again.

"Steven, you one greedy boy."

Steven gestures again, and this time it clicks; for Amethyst. It wasn't his own mouth he was pointing to: it was Pearls. And it wasn't his own cheek: it was Amethysts.

"Oh, I get it," Amethyst claps her fist onto her open palm.

"What is it? What is he trying to say?" It tickled that part in Amethysts head which enjoys seeing Pearl squirm over a puzzle she couldn't solve.

"Just shut up and come here."

It was the first time she had used such force (eventually, it would be endearing to Pearl, that kind of neediness, all for her, wanting, pining, as she would like to think), fat fingers took hold of a bony bicep. Where Stevens was almost ninety percent spit, Amethyst used more of those raw fleshy lips to press a kiss to Pearls cheek. Quick, painless, it should have been both. That feeling though, it sparked a heat in Amethyst, centered deep, deep in her gem, at the very core of her essence.

A light of curiosity made Amethyst wonder what might happen if she did it again. Using more pressure, until she was practically suckling on the bone. The inside of her gem burns hard, growing and growing with every second she lingered in contact. Till a sudden pop, a faint purple glow, just the beginning of something more, came from her gem.

"Wow, what was that?" Flummoxed, Amethyst found herself laughing off the phenomenon. Unsure of what her body was doing, unsure if she should be scared or not.

However, a squealing face collided with hers. Soft baby head connecting to her rather hard one. Steven wailed, clutching his forehead, tears free flowing, as tall skinny legs stepped over the both of them in a mad sprint.

The temple door never fully opens before it closes shut.

"Look what you did! You made him sad and junk." Amethyst angrily addresses the door. "Hey-it's okay bud." She bounces the wailing baby, "I was just doing what you asked me to do Steven. Why I gotta get pushed around for it?" She gets up and walks a ways out of the temple until she hits sand. "Chill man, it's alright. Pearl was just BEING A JERK!" Amethyst yells over her shoulder.

This does nothing to help improve Stevens's mood as he continues to cry.

Behind the closed door, Pearl lay with her back against its icy surface. Shoulders shook deeply. Both hands cover her forehead. They dug into the flesh around her gem. Gems don't need to breathe, yet she was panting like a dog on a hot summer's day. Heavy, violently, with legs locked painfully in place.

"No-no-no." She started a mantra, trying to clear her thoughts. To whittle this feeling to nothing. The painful pressure against her hands suddenly pushed harder. She gripped tighter and gave a long hiss. Cringing inward.

"No-no-no. Please," Pearl bargained, as she felt her strength losing, "stop, stop." The pain built, more and more. Her hands burning. Light peeked between the cracks in her fingers. Gut wrenching tightly. Breathe shortening. The feeling was forcing and forcing its way until...

Blue light exploded, bouncing off the waterfalls in her room. Vibrant glittering shapes which as they slowly descend filled Pearl with dread. She starts to cry. Head in her lap. When the heart shaped holograms slowly touch the ground they vanish in pretty glittering shards.

"Rose." Pearl gasped even as she willed the dread to take over, to banish this other sensation, one which hadn't been in her heart for so long. "I'm so sorry." How could this happen. Rose should have been the beginning, and the end, of any sort of happiness of her own.

 **THE END**


	5. Fusion

**Positively Pearlmethyst Day 5:** Fusion

Opal was the best of both of them. A true fusion of their better qualities, minus the things that made each of them...flawed, as Pearl put it. Maybe Opal had a hard time remembering things, but she never forgot the important stuff; such as her love for Steven, and not to wander to far from the temple.

"We only fuse for deadly situations." So then what about Garnet? She was fussed a hundred percent of the time, and never used her combined strength for anything more strenuous than reclining behind a barn, as Peridot so pointed out. Yes, the statement had turned into a complete farce. No, that didn't mean Pearl and Amethyst tried to fuse as much as possible. Only when the mood struck. Or, when things got to be too much for either of them. When it was easier to share the load, than bare it all alone.

Anyway who were they to deny Opal her fun either? Let the gem stretch her limbs too. As Amethyst would say, they weren't the fun police. Although, why there was a branch of law specifically in charge of policing that Pearl didn't understand. Opal would have gotten the joke. She had Amethyst's knack for humor.

Steven appreciated getting to see his sort of, fusion Aunt, as he put it, since like one, Opal popped in for fun times every now and again. Amethyst would argue that she was a thousand times more fun than Opal, because the fusion did have the old ball and chain holding her back. Pointing a thumb to a disgruntled Pearl at her side.

In the end, she would have to split, in both kinds of ways. Not just through the front door. Because, unlike Ruby and Sapphire, Pearl and Amethyst really enjoyed their time apart even more so than being fused together. When they were Opal, Amethyst couldn't play pranks on Pearl. When they were Opal, Pearl couldn't watch in horror as Amethyst scarfs down a plate of food (the plate included). When they were Opal, they couldn't hold each other. And when they were Opal, they couldn't share kisses, with each other, and the little boy they loved so very much.

 **THE END**


	6. Fly Me to the Moon (AU)

**Positively Pearlmethyst Day 6:** **Fly me to the moon (AU)**

A furious cabbie tooted his horn.

 **Honk. Honk.**

He gestured rudely to the car that had cut him off, asking the person in the back seat if she had seen them clearly texting on their phone.

"Who do you got to be talking with that it's so important?"

The woman in the back seat ignored him. Rubbing her temple. The cabbies horn had simply reminded her of the slight headache she was battling. Going from sea level to thirty thousand feet could be taxing. Cabin pressure tended to put the squeeze on your brain; that, and she forgot to eat before the flight. She always got a headache if she didn't eat before flying. If only _someone_ hadn't hit the snooze alarm.

Trousers wrinkled from going from sitting to standing about a thousand times. No skirt, you learn quickly why many flight attendants don't wear one. The passengers who've had a little too much before the flight to combat the jitters can get a little touchy. Her matching brown vest slumped in the seat beside her. That pretty red bow still snug around her neck. And even though it was warm in the cab, she kept her sleeves down to her wrists. _One must always look professional,_ her mother always told her. A woman who was as proper and fussy as a headmistress, except she worked as a dry cleaner.

The cab pulled to a stop, rusty breaks working too hard. Her jacket fell onto the floor where all sorts of wonderful leftovers from previous fares could latch onto it.

Quick to pay the cabbie off, she got her hand bag out of the trunk while he waited in the driver's seat for her to close it. _How chivalrous,_ she scoffed, when he sped off to find another fair.

Air wet, the streets smell of mold. A large puddle stood between her and the door. She swerved around it knowing how deep the hole in the pavement went. There was no one guarding the front as she entered the lobby to the apartment complex. Just an empty desk, and an old lady (Nanefua) in a very comfortable looking chair in the corner. She gave the old woman a smile to be respectful, which was returned with a wave. If her son wasn't by the front then he was probably attending to one of the tenants. She hoped it wasn't their apartment again. _Lord knows he's unclogged our drain twice this month so far._ A hand brushes up the back of her head. Her short pixie cut had sagged along with her energy and in need of a revitalizing shower. _I could go for a bath,_ but that would depend on the severity of the mess she was sure to find.

As the elevator came to a stop, her stomach doing a roll with it, Pearl let out a breath as the doors opened. _Home,_ the very thought spurred her heels in motion with a **click click** sound on the ugly auburn carpet in the hallway.

The door had three name plaques to show the number of people who resided in apartment two-hundred and twenty-five. Long fingers trace each of them. Proper cursive, albeit slightly shaken by the fact she had been holding such a dangerous tool. She remembers the fight about who would be first on the door, only fair, she had reasoned, this had been her idea to take a wood etching class. The one below had wobbly letter's and the -yst at the end was being slowly crushed by the rest of the letters in her name. When her hand came to rest on the final plaque her heart beat faster. Oh, how much fun she had had helping him etch the wood. Those hands in hers, as she had guided him. It was as if he knew that his name was going to be last, because he scribbled the conjunction above his name so that when lined up they read: Pearl, Amethyst, _and_ Steven.

Pearl used her key and unlocked the door.

What lay inside could of been much worse. She remembers the time when the microwave had to be replaced. _Kofi wanted to throw us out. But Steven found a way to persuade him against it._ Who knew the way to that testy man's heart was with a couple of artery clogging hamburgers.

An open pizza box, one full slice of cold meat lovers left, the rest was a heap of uneaten crusts. Plastic cups had left stains on the coffee table. She grumbles and moves them on top of some coasters (not that it would do much to what was already there). A man with an egg shaped head held a golf club aloft, face locked in screaming torment, poised to swing the club furiously at the ground, the golf ball mere inches from the whole. Pearl walked over, stopped the paused tape, and ejected the video cassette from the VCR, slipped it into the case, and back into the cabinet. She turned off the TV and saw her nimble figure distorted by the curve of the television's tube. Good for their older collection of movies, but if they wanted to watch a DVD they all had to huddle onto the tiny bed in Steven's room (he had the only flat screen TV, and DVD player, in the apartment). Not that Pearl ever thought that getting to snuggle her Steven was a bad thing. It was other people in this household who didn't know how to share space.

 **Bang.**

The remote slipped out of Pearls hands. Its back bursts open, scattering the batteries. A deep rumble of grief from her chest as she has to picks up the pieces. She teetered when she rose. Eyes closing to stop the room from moving without her permission. They wanted to stay closed, the edges of her mind ready to head to that sweet region of sleep.

Before that could come however, there was another noise that had Pearl venturing towards its origin for investigation.

A cream colored door was left a jar. Two shadows roamed underneath. Preying upon one another with brutish yells followed by squealing shouts which played against one another like a choreographed play. Pearl laid her hand upon the bronze handle that curled ornately. It had been an all out war against their landlord to change the originals (such bland knobs held no aesthetic to Pearl). _We've been living here for fourteen years; it wasn't like we were planning to move after we changed the locks._ Pearl found her jaw tightening upon the memory.

Like the drawn out dragging of a bow across strings came the eerie sound of bed springs compressing under weight.

Voice still in the throes of puberty, it cracks upon the I's. "In the name of the moon, I will stop you."

Feet stomp upon the floor, causing the rather splendid handle they had gone through so much effort to install to rattle in an otherwise cheap doorframe. Fists pounded hard. Whoever so wielded such strength was truly a giant, and not to be tussled with.

A voice boomed in the room.

"I ain't afraid of no moon boy!"

"Amethyst, I'm Sailor Steven-having been entrusted by Sailor Pluto to carry on in her absence-because she's on vacation."

"Uh, sorry dude. Didn't you hear? Pluto ain't a planet no more."

Pearl could picture the boy crossing his arms as he harrumphed. "Yeah well, the science is still out." Energy crept into him, "Anyway, I, Sailor Pluto-slash-Sailor Steven, will take you down."

A pose she had caught him practicing in the bathroom mirror. Arm curved protectively in from of him, as he pointed his finger like a gun through his elbow. Proud feet pressed upon the lovely rose printed sheets she had bought. No matter, the bed looks like it hadn't been made anyway. Her accent pillows heaped to one side; her side precisely.

"You two seem to be having fun." A slyness to her words, as a light grin sets in.

"Pearl!" The boy turns, sending the hem of his dress swaying. A lovely tiara topped with elegant pink quartz was nestled in his curly brown hair. Flabby legs bounced him closer.

"Be careful." Pearl met him at the edge, to steady the boy's lively frame. His arms able to wrap completely around her boney midsection. Since it was already a mess she tossed her blazer down on their oversized bed; a California king, as if the 'master bedroom' wasn't cramped enough.

Soaking in that energy, Pearl hopes it might invigorate her tired bones. Her hands wove through his hair. Felt a greasiness to it that made her frown.

"It's already past lunch, were you not planning on taking a shower today?"

"It's not like we were going out." Said a voice sometimes mistaken as masculine. A purple mask concealed her identity poorly. Hawaiian heritage shown by that big nose, and those full lips. Monkey hands tightened around the straps of her leotard. Amethyst snapped them against her body without a wince. A heavy chest heaved with a well practiced laugh. As deep as the dinosaur bones in the earth, with probably just as much gravel in that throat too.

Hard to be menacing when your partner stood at a height of six feet, and you, a pitiable five. Amethyst was lucky in some regards, a few less inches and she'd be in the micro leagues. Even so, it didn't allow her to compete in some wrestling shows either. But hey, that was part of the appeal of her character. A loner, someone who never fit in, literally because of her stature. _That Steven always knows how to come up with good back stories._ It played well with audiences. The kids at least. Adults were too dumb to get it.

As meticulous as a scientist, as fretful as a mother hen, Pearl combed his hair with her fingers trying to restore its natural bounce. "You look so pretty."

Steven swished his skirt as he cupped his cheek, feeling the full heat of his embarrassment. The bed springs with his movement.

There was little room for even Pearls thin frame to fit between the overlarge bed and the small closet the two women shared. Door hitting the bed before it could open more than half way. Amethyst said she would move the bed, but hasn't followed through on her offer.

Ninety percent of the closet went to Pearl, while the other ten Amethyst never used anyway. Only one dress shirt, which she wore once a year for their anniversary (always a last minute reservation at the same restaurant they had been going to for years; _how could she forget such a simple date: three-three of o three_ ), which even then she couldn't try to be presentable enough to tuck the shirt in. There were a few raggedy reminders of grungier days (which currently foster a few generations of moths). The only thing Amethyst wore from this selection was her faded brown jacket with the pockets were made to look cool but served no visible function whatsoever.

Pearl hung up her blazer, stroking a few wrinkles out of the sleeve before the door shut.

"Yes, now I think it's time you two clean up." The woman pointed at each of them. Always obedient, Steven was ready to hop to it. _You are always my little star Steven,_ Pearl fussed in her head, ready to swoon over her perfect gentlemen.

A grunt, feral sounding in nature as Amethyst flexed her chunky arms, "No one tells Purple Puma what to do."

An immaculate eyebrow rose, "Really?"

His chubby arm blocks Pearl's path, a serious mouth drew down Steven's eyebrows, "Careful Sailor Pearl, she's strong." Although not as screen accurate as Steven would have liked, his staff wobbled as he brandished it against their opponent. Paint chipped in several places from banging around the apartment. A thin piece of wire shaped in a heart was the inaccurate part because there should be another heart on top of the larger one, and it bent easily when barely waved about when he was fighting evil. Steven stopped to fix it, noting that the small jewel was coming off (Pearl would need to hot glue it again).

Pearl licks her thumb and wipes a crumb from the corner of his cheek.

"Peeearl." Steven frowns.

"Don't worry Steven, I can take care of myself."

"You best be ready to throw down, P!" Amethyst hoots, body tensing as the woman walks closer.

Slow, precise movements, Pearl undoes her bow with smooth hands. Orthopedic shoes muffled by the carpet. Body still light as a feather from her dancing years. With elegance, yet a touch of spice those slim boney hips bounce to a song in her head. It wasn't the size that counts, but how you use it. And Pearl was using all of her skinny frame to attempt to electrify her partner. She nudges a coil of coral colored hair that drapes over the front of her ear, that stops just by the point of her jaw. It was always a pleasure to see how she could affect Amethyst the way the woman did the same to her, although, being honest, Pearl was much weaker at being as seductive as her partner could. But she can tell it had worked by the way the woman's shoulders lowered, feet widening to allow Pearl to fit in-between them to drape her arms on either side of the shorter woman's thick neck.

Strikingly purple hair touched the floor, so thick, an uncomely, making it hard to find the back of Amethysts neck so that she might tickle it with her nails. Pearl felt that nose nuzzle under her chest, right on the bone. Not that Pearl had much flesh; unlike Amethyst. Pearl wasn't jealous, she wasn't that kind of woman (Amethyst always argued differently), in fact she felt sorry that her partner had to carry around the extra weight. Always asking for back rubs (what Pearl didn't know was that Amethyst just liked the other woman putting her hands on her).

Fat fingers tap Pearls vertebra like a drum, the beat catchy, spontaneous, like the woman's personality.

"See Steven, I have a way with evildoers." The purring in Pearls chest jiggled Amethysts chin, and reverberated in the fillings in her mouth, but didn't stop there. It went deep, down into that bottomless gullet, stirring the digesting remains of her and Stevens' breakfast, causing it to bubble back out in a muffled laugh.

The hands around Pearl's back lock tight with one another. They pull her intimately close. Amethysts chin digs painfully into Pearls chest bone. As swift as when she had done Allegro in her dancer days, Amethyst thrusts her into an assisted pirouette. As she spins the laughter turns maniacal. A rapid decent in an air plane was less nauseous. The blades of the ceiling fan freeze as Pearl matches their speed.

Then, "Did ja re-he-he-eally think that was going to work. News flash, Pearl. You're in my house." Amethyst suplexed them onto the bed.

Pearl regrets buying such a firm mattress, but the pair would otherwise suffer the ailments of day to day life if their bed was too soft.

Steven gasped as he watches his fellow sailor scout be taken down.

Head bent back, nose aching from hitting the sheets face first, neck cramping, the headache Pearl had forgotten now surged to the forefront of her brain with a steady beating. The world spun like a tilt-o-whirl. Steven spun in her vision, hands twisting nervously around his staff. Waiting for what Pearl was going to do next.

"AMETHYST!" Pearl winced as her brain admonished her behavior with a strong throb.

Something had decided to walk its way down to Pearls rear. She felt a strong hand grip her. Amethyst twists till Pearl gives a cry.

"All you gotta do is say you give." Amethyst teased.

"I will do no such thing!" Pearl banged her fists on the mattress. Body thrashing as she tugs at the sheets to drag herself away from the torture. Legs kicking air.

Amethyst watched the woman squirm atop her. It was like a fish flopping in the middle of a pier, unable to reach the safety of water on either side. This wasn't going to be fun like usual. If Pearl wasn't going to play, then what's the point? _Geez, looks like we got grouchy Pearl today._ An attempt was made to roll out of the clinch. Too bad there was soft muscle on both sides and not a weak link in the chain.

"Steven! Help me."

Now that was new. Pearl never asked Steven for help unless it was with choirs. _S'not like she doesn't take over anyway. I'm Pearl and everything has to be so perfect. That is not how you fold towels Amethyst, its width wise, then length. Oh geez, she's gettin' in ma' head again._ Amethyst shook her brain to suss out that condescending voice. With ease she tosses the feather light woman off; voice squawking with unpreparedness.

"You need a nap." Amethyst prods the bags under Pearls eyes impolitely.

As Steven sat down next to her, Pearl wraps her arms around his waist and tucks her head into his lap. The boy cooed and placed a comforting hand on her hair; brushing it. He liked Pearls hair. _So beautiful_ , he thought, he didn't necessarily like his curly hair, as it was impossible to straighten, but it was his, and he was stuck with it, and Steven was always one to make the best with what's given to him.

Always needing to refute the truth, Pearl mumbles, "I'm quite fine," as a yawn interrupts her _thank you_. Steven felt the weight in his lap grow heavier; Pearl's long nose nuzzles him.

Amethyst jerked her thumb at the door, "Let's give her some quiet." When Steven moved Pearl groaned, already knowing she was going to miss his pleasing warmth.

"Stay with me?" She whined, and propped Steven, along with herself, against their fine assortment of pillows. The long round one was Steven's favorite because it was shaped kind of like a big red hot dog. His fingers played with the tassels as Pearl got comfortable next to him. Back to front, Pearl hung her arm over his stomach.

"So what," Amethyst's voice boomed at the two now cuddling on top of the unmade bed, "now I'm suppose to clean up by myself. How's that fair?"

Steven shrugged.

Pearl cracks an eye, the whole side of her face pressed into the pillow. Nose catching the...distinct musky odor of her partner. She inhaled and cringed, but it was familiar, and it did let her know that she was home.

"It should be no problem," a break for another yawn, "for such a proud puma as you. So strong and handsome."

"I knows that you're playing me...I like that." Amethyst growled, and snaps her teeth. Steven giggled, while the one eye Pearl had opened rolled, but Amethyst did get a snort out of her so it was worth the lame joke.

The door to the room was left wide open so that Pearl could hear all the pleasant sounds as her partner 'cleaned up,' which sounded much like they were playing host to an elephant. Even so, the noise was relaxing; in some very weird way it helps chase away any thoughts that might keep her awake. So she pulled Steven closer to her chest, the boy relaxing with a tender sigh to match her own, as she drifted off to sleep.

 **THE END**


	7. Forgiveness

**Positively Pearlmethyst Day 7:** **Forgiveness**

"You still love her don't you." Words not so life changing as the implications would merit. A simple factual statement made one sunny afternoon as the pair sat on the deck. Before them was an endless ocean. A breeze as dry as the sand in front of the house does not even stir her hair, which extends all the way to the floor. Her nose cringes at the salty air, wishing that it could have caught the scents of the food stands and restaurants from the boardwalk just beyond the hill.

Pale fingertips tap on the small round table between them. A nervous rhythm with a repeating meter of four. Truth was always better than lies, but lies often comforted far better than the truth. "I will always love Rose, Amethyst. That will never change. She...was too much a part of my life. I can never let that go."

The table rattles as a purple fist crashes down upon it. Tea bounces out of her cup. Follows the grooves of the saucer and becomes trapped around the edges. A little moat that could use a crocodile; she joked about this with the other.

"How do you think this makes me feel?" Confused, hurt, every little detail of emotion as visible as strokes in Van Gogh's image of a turbulent night sky. Her hand lay upon the amethyst stone in her chest.

"Amethyst, it is none of your concern." She scratches at the pearl in her forehead.

"Well, why not Pearl?" Hadn't she given enough? Hadn't they progressed enough? When was she going to be-the one? When could she move up the latter of Pearl's heart and take that spot? The spot that Rose still has even though she was gone; it was unfair.

Pearl laid a hand upon her partners closed fist. The flesh beneath squirmed. Fingers shuffled like gears in a music box. Pearl squeezed so that that big old eye would look her way. The sadness she saw, that crushing look of feeling unwanted (of which Pearl felt before with when Rose had made her choice), was a heavy blow to her gem.

"Because all you need to know is that I love you."

"I won't play second fiddle to her anymore."

"You won't."

"How do I even know that? You going to let me crawl inside that gem of yours? We both know what I'd find in there-her. Rose'll be all over every inch of that noggin of yours." The lashing was deserved. Rose would be there, yes, but...

The chair fell back with a crash. Feet thumped on the wood as Amethyst walked to the front door, which opens with a squeal. "Where are you going?" It was reflex, letting the anger take hold of her.

"I'm going to let you be alone...but I guess you won't be, not with _her_ in there." Amethyst points to her own forehead. Her chubby finger quivers even though she is trying her best to squeeze the muscles stiff.

She does not raise her voice, or shout for her return. Pearl knew Amethyst would need her space, and time to think. While Pearl would need time to think of a way to make this up to her. True, Rose would always be in her thoughts. That was never going to change. First loves are hard to get over when you've been infatuated with that person for more than five thousand years.

A seagull sets down on the railing with a ruffle of feathers. Black glassy eyes lock with her own for a second before the bird decides to take a stroll along the rail. Feet sure and balance unshakable. It struts to the end then does an about face without as much as a wobble. The bird makes its way back to Pearl and comes to a stop. Flaps its wings, and hunkers down for a rest. Tired from fighting the laws of a dead man.

"Your coda could use some alterations." Pearl jokes with the bird who won't even look her in the eye when she's talking.

The seagull cries, feathers bristling in anger.

She watches the bird fly away. "I guess not everyone can take criticism." Pearl sighs. "I can't make anyone happy today can I." An elbow rests on the table as she props her hand under her chin. A spoon stirs the last remnants of heat out in a few wimpy wisps of steam from her tea.

Clouds march across the sky, there edges slanted. The ocean has a green tinge, as if it were sick. Rough waves churn the ocean bottom.

Legs take ages to cross. Pearl sets her hands in her lap, the tea forgotten. _I seem to of steeped it to long today,_ she grimaced. Knowing full well why she had missed the tiny window of opportunity crucial to achieving total perfection with her tea making. Pearl rolls her blushing cheek into her shoulder. _She had been exceptionally eager for affection._ Faint lashes close over her eyes, which becomes quite the problem in an inky black canvas; rife with possibility. Purple skin enters her mind. She can feel the ghostly pressure of those strong arms, and that glowing gem wound tightly around her resting mind. _I should have seen this conversation coming._ The signs, had there even been any, Pearl wonders. Had she missed some crucial detail that could have avoided this whole situation?

The door squeaks open. A knee bangs the table, tea spills across it and over the edge in a daring lope for freedom to the ocean, only to squeeze through the wooden boards and find thirsty sand below the house.

"Here." The voice offers a towel.

Pearl takes it and smiles, "Thank you, Garnet."

The incredibly tall woman nods, hand adjusting her sunglasses with an almost nervousness to them, as if this imposing gem currently shielding her from the sun could ever be nervous.

"Sorry about the mess."

"That's quite alright," Pearl frowns as the once white towel had now absorbed the slight brown tint of the tea, "good thing you came prepared." She lays the towel on the table.

Garnet asks to use the overturned seat with but a gesture, the sapphire gem shinning in her palm as impeccable as ever.

Pearl nods.

Wide hips struggle to fit. Garnet finds it hard to decide what to do with her hands. They strangle the arm rests a little, then cross and uncross. She even attempts a casual lean with one arm onto the table but her elbow lands with a squish in the dirty towel. Garnet frowns, and Pearl can't help but conceal a laugh behind her hand. The mood is lightened and Garnet calmly locks her fingers in her lap. Palms resting on her massive thighs; full of muscle and power and potential. That was the Garnet Pearl knew.

Lips grease themselves, though not as plump as Amethysts, they still hold an appeal. "Amethyst seems upset."

Pearl furrows her slight brow; nose inhaling the ocean breeze. "Is she?" The gem asks as she glances at the house, hoping she might catch some glimpse of her.

"She is staring into the fridge but hasn't tried to eat anything."

"Oh, dear." This...well, of course this was serious, Pearl tried to argue, but it was also bewildering as well. Amethyst had nothing to be resentful of. It-it wasn't like Rose was still here, at least not physically; in their hearts yes, she always had a place there. Emotion was such a raw force outside of her control; it was like grappling with a very tricky stain. You don't want it to be there but it just is, and sometimes it's the kind of stain that was tough to get out, like Pearl would need the super cleaner, and even then... _this metaphor is getting away from me. No one's a stain, unless you count the ones Amethyst makes._

Thumbs rub over one another in small simple strokes. It couldn't soothe her anxiety, but it was occupying the quiet void between Garnet and herself. She began to work them like knitting needles. Weaving invisible threads into...she decided it would be a sweater. One that Steven could wear when it gets colder. _A nice dark Prussian blue thread would match lovely with his star,_ she decided, as she starts to envision her design. The leap from imaginary to reality a mere lack in materials. _Also I'll need to learn how to knit. Maybe the thrift shop will have a book on the hobby._ Yes, she could take a little trip to the place where she buys all the things for her 'Pearl pouch,' they always had a nice assorted collection of fun prizes she knew Steven would like. They do have a few rickety shelves of decaying books. Surely there would be one on knitting.

As Pearl was planning out her next venture into town, there came a **tap tap tap** from a firm finger. Garnets right hand was slowly tapping out Morse code on wood of the table. The gem loomed over the small piece of furniture. Body cocked awkwardly.

Nervousness crept into Pearl, shaking her gem to its core, afraid to ask but the need to be polite outweighed all else, "Is everything ok?"

The finger stops only when it is swallowed by her other hand. Garnet shifts them into her lap where she squeezes both her hands between her thighs. Such open behavior from usually a very reserved gem.

"You should talk to Amethyst." A hand escapes her tight hold to fidget with her frames. They reflect the red heat of the sun.

Pearl dips her nose to her breast where it catches the still pungent odor of fried foods. It is enough to make her turn her nose towards the sky. She leans back heavily upon the chair; a faint creak of the deck under foot as front legs lifts off it. Stability was the key; Pearl kept her toes pointed and stiff like stakes in the ground.

"What should I do?" She asks.

Garnet rolls her tongue in her mouth, chasing down the three words she needed to speak, "I don't know." Honest, but not very helpful coming from someone who should know everything about love, then again, there were two who might be more acquainted with the topic; even more than her. Made of love wasn't as good as the foundation that held it together.

"Could I perhaps, talk to Ruby and Sapphire?"

A grimace was the occasional mark of feeling neglected in favor of her 'mothers.'

"I don't think that would help you."

"Are you sure?" Daring, for Pearl, to show any sort of disagreement with the fusions judgment.

Garnet nodded, "I think...if they were here, what they might say is-just go with the flow." Sure in herself, the kind of confidence Pearl envied regularly. That, ability to know what you want and do what you want without pause. An admirable quality, if frustrating.

"That's not very helpful."

"I think it will be...more than you think."

Before more could be said the fusion got up, a slight tilt back to stretch her back before she left, taking the steps down to the beach.

"Where are you going?" Pearl quickly leaps in three long strides to the edge of the deck, hands braced on the railing as she watched the fusion gradually stroll away without a reply. Thick hair bounces with her movements.

"Where's G going?" The question came from beside her and at a little above hip level.

Pearl sighs, "Who knows." She should have been spooked, should be even a little nervous, she was, as her toe taps within her flats. Then again what Pearl really was at the moment was tired. Gem drained, making her feel light, not such as when she dances about on her waterfalls. Instead she felt as if she were about to fall over its edge. Which oddly enough due to the construction of the temple would have landed her next to Amethyst anyway.

Amethyst gestured to the chairs, "Can we sit?"

Pearl nods and the two silently took their seats as before. The tea cup moved out of the way to give room for Pearl's long arms; palms clasped together.

Things don't always work out the way you think them in your head. You could have this whole grand speech planned about how things weren't fair. How she wasn't being fair about this. It would include ranting, raving, and maybe some spit thrown about just because she knows Pearl doesn't like it.

But the world doesn't work that way. Before Amethyst could get her thoughts out (just as her body tenses, ready for the big fight) Pearl goes and says she's sorry. Which of course, the gem had to go and say such a sappy apology with a dopey face; visibly biting the inside of her cheek.

"I need you to know something, and I need you to believe me when I say this. Yes-I love Rose. That will never change. But I do love you too."

There is pause for the inevitable huff as amethyst crosses her arms to squeeze the queasy feeling in her stomach out in an inappropriate burp.

"You mean a lot to me Amethyst," those fingers walk across the table to find Amethysts, and gently nudge till they link with one another, "I need you to believe that." And Pearl tries to convey this with a hard squeeze. The table groans even with as light a body as Pearls, as she leans over to peck a round full cheek.

"Geez, I need to get mad at you more often." All the strife blown away with such a kerfuffle of words.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

Forceful, for the most delicate member of their team, with eyes glassy, Pearl touches the edge of Amethysts lips with her own. Once, then a second time for good measure. When she pulls back, there is a curve to them that was a much more suitable fit than the depression before. Her breath follows Pearl upwards as she presses her lips to Amethysts temple.

"Pffff." A raspberry, none too wet, and struggling to have a lot of feeling behind it.

"What was that?" Amethyst asks, as a brow as unruly as he hair raises in question.

"I can be humorous too you know." Pearl grins.

Amethyst returns it in kind, as the pair gets comfortable in their seats and watch the world turn around them.

 **THE END**


End file.
